The dental assistant salary is quite good considering that they are only assistants and not the main dentist. Indeed, how much does a dental assistant make? These people earn a lot every hour, and they each receive wonderful benefits once they find a good place to work. Anybody who plans on having a career in this business will definitely enjoy the opportunities available. These assistants perform all kinds of office duties and a lot of patient care inside clinics.
Why A Dental Assistant Is A Good Career?
It is good career because you get the chance to help people who need help with their teeth. If you have a passion for good oral care, this makes this career even more rewarding. The dental assistant salary is truly helpful, so a long term career in this industry wouldn’t be so bad. Since you are a vital aspect of the dental clinic, you will always have a good job or find many that are wide open. Other careers wouldn’t get you anywhere because of the lack of jobs available, but you are an important part of the clinic, so a job is always available.
What Do Dental Assistants Do?
It has been said that they aren’t allowed to do what licensed dental hygienists do, but they do almost the same things during their working hours. Assistants usually help the main dentist during hours when patients are getting their teeth fixed. They usually are meant to help make each patient feel comfortable and get their past oral records. They’re the ones who need to sterilize everything to ensure that all of the equipment is ready for the new patient. Everything from the radiographs, to the x ray film, to the trays, they are all setup by the dental assistant.
How Much do Dental Assistants Make a Year in Each State?
Dental Assistant Salary by State | Employment Number | Hourly median wage | Annual median wage |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | 3040 | 14.54 | 30240 |
Alaska | 1050 | 20.31 | 42250 |
Arizona | 6160 | 16.7 | 34730 |
Arkansas | 2480 | 13.54 | 28160 |
California | 43470 | 17.11 | 35590 |
Colorado | 5960 | 17.91 | 37240 |
Connecticut | 4490 | 19.72 | 41010 |
Delaware | 850 | 16.38 | 34080 |
District of Columbia | 590 | 20.38 | 42400 |
Florida | 16270 | 16.26 | 33820 |
Georgia | 8290 | 16.27 | 33850 |
Guam | 150 | 11.8 | 24550 |
Hawaii | 1640 | 15.27 | 31750 |
Idaho | 2000 | 15.17 | 31550 |
Illinois | 13350 | 15.68 | 32610 |
Indiana | 5950 | 16.67 | 34680 |
Iowa | 2430 | 17.12 | 35600 |
Kansas | 2850 | 15.2 | 31620 |
Kentucky | 3970 | 14.49 | 30150 |
Louisiana | 3590 | 13.89 | 28880 |
Maine | 1130 | 18.1 | 37650 |
Maryland | 5320 | 17.77 | 36950 |
Massachusetts | 6770 | 19.69 | 40950 |
Michigan | 8740 | 16.17 | 33640 |
Minnesota | 5180 | 20.42 | 42480 |
Mississippi | 2050 | 13.81 | 28730 |
Missouri | 4970 | 16.02 | 33310 |
Montana | 1130 | 14.94 | 31070 |
Nebraska | 1960 | 15.19 | 31580 |
Nevada | 2870 | 17.78 | 36980 |
New Hampshire | 1250 | 21.33 | 44360 |
New Jersey | 8620 | 18.62 | 38730 |
New Mexico | 2060 | 15.19 | 31600 |
New York | 17420 | 16.68 | 34690 |
North Carolina | 8620 | 17.64 | 36690 |
North Dakota | 620 | 16.53 | 34380 |
Ohio | 9670 | 16.2 | 33690 |
Oklahoma | 3440 | 14.13 | 29390 |
Oregon | 4600 | 18.34 | 38140 |
Pennsylvania | 12070 | 15.61 | 32480 |
Puerto Rico | 2350 | 8.46 | 17600 |
Rhode Island | 800 | 17.56 | 36520 |
South Carolina | 3300 | 16.34 | 33980 |
South Dakota | 860 | 13.79 | 28690 |
Tennessee | 5480 | 15.89 | 33050 |
Texas | 22720 | 15.81 | 32880 |
Utah | 4390 | 12.95 | 26930 |
Vermont | 510 | 18.23 | 37920 |
Virgin Islands | 40 | 16.35 | 34000 |
Virginia | 8400 | 16.74 | 34830 |
Washington | 9090 | 18.94 | 39390 |
West Virginia | 1360 | 12.86 | 26750 |
Wisconsin | 5760 | 16.65 | 34620 |
Wyoming | 560 | 16.05 | 33380 |
Entry Level
For the entry level assistants, they usual earn around $13 to $15 depending on where they actually work. There are definitely certain states and cities that pay potentially higher. The usual wage per year for entry level assistants is around $22,750 all the way up to $32,380. This isn’t all that bad considering that they are only entry level.
Experienced Assistants
Experienced assistants usally earn around $22 per hour. These are for the high paying assistants, but it can potentially get a little bit higher with more experience. On average, the yearly pay is around $40,000 all the way up to $46,150 per year. As an assistant, this is already a good pay.
How To Earn More And Grow as an Dental Assistant
Get more experience
The first way to get paid more is by trying to gain more experience in your field. You can gain more experience by staying at your ordinary level of work and growing more with the more years that you spend. Usually all it takes is going to your job and doing your ultimate best despite the entry level pay. Once you’ve been doing it for about a year or more, you can then opt for a higher paying job in the same field.
Career Advancement
You can also try advancing in your career by going for a different level of dentistry. You can do so by becoming a dentist, dental hygienist, consultant, manager, laboratory technician, and even a Sr. dental assistant. Some assistants even become dental researchers which help in developing research for future dental calculations. These careers all pay much higher than being an ordinary dental assistant. Even though it is rewarding in this field of study, many people find it fulfilling to grow in their career and try to become better dentists in other fields. You not only become a better dentist, but the earning potential grows and you can help more people in a different way.
The salary of dental assistant is not only good, but the advancement that can be achieved can help an assistant earn even more and help more people. This industry is huge with plenty of jobs, and those who simply want to grow in their fields will find that being a dental assistant can open up new doors and possibilities. These people work extremely hard and earn a lot, but their jobs aren’t as demanding as dentists in general. In other words, how much a dental assistant makes is very good even if not too much work is involved. If you plan to get into this career, then it will definitely be rewarding for you in the long run. With the dentist assistant salary, you can be sure to earn a lot of money and have a rewarding, lasting career.